Lace-fastener.



D. WINBRAY.

LACE FASTENER- APPLICATION FILED MAY 24,"!916.

11,222,835, Patented Apr. 17, 1917.

DAVE WINBRAY, OF HOT SPRINGS, ARKANSAS.

LACE-FASTENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 1'7, 1917.

Application filed May 24. 1916. Serial No. 99,640.

To all whom it may concern? Be it known that I, DAVE WVINBRAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hot Springs, in the county of Garland and State of Arkansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lace-Fasteners, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawmgs.

This invention relates to fastening devices, and particularly to fastening devices in the nature of clasps for holding tapes, laces or other flexible members, and preventing their withdrawal from or through the clasps.

The general object of the invention is the provision of a very simple-device of this character acting as an automatic clasp or buckle for holding laces, shoe strings, corset strings, etc, at any desired tension' at certain points along the length of a lace or string, irrespective of the tension of other portions of the string or lace, thus making it possible to lace a shoe, corset or other garment to'which the device is applied so that the laces will be held positively against relative movement along certain portions of the lace or garment but may be drawn tight or loosened upon certain other portions of the garment or article, so that, for instance, the. article or body may be laced tightly in certain sections and less tightly or more tightly laced at certain other sections, as may be desired, or whereby the article to which the lacing clasps are applied may be laced up so as to fit the body and then the laces held against relative movement so as to keep the article from changing the form so given to it.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which is very simple and cheaply made, can be readily applied, is adapted to a large variety of different uses, and which when in place will positively and firmly grip the lace, cord, string, or other flexible connection passing through the clasp.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a corset with my device applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view through the corset on the line 22 of Fig. 1, showing the manner in which th aw is pped. and 116 11.;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the construction illustrated in Fig. 2, but showing the lace or tape-gripping device open; and

Fig. 4 is a like view to Fig. 3, except that the lace or tape-gripping device is closed and is slightly modified in form.

Referring to Fig. 3 it will be seen that my improved fastening device comprises essentially an eyelet 1O constructed in the usual and ordinary manner, the material at one point of this eyelet, however, and upon the face being bent over so as to form a head 11. Goacting with this bead is a looplike member 12, illustrated as somewhat rectangular in form and one end of which constitutes a pintle passing through the head 11 and hingedly connected thereby to the eye let. Mounted upon the under face of this loop 12 and either formed integral with this loop or otherwise attached thereto is a ring 13 which is split at 14 and therefore is some what resilient. This ring has an exterior diameter slightly larger normally than the interior diameter of the eyelet 10 so that when the clasp is depressed against the face of the material 15 to which the eyelet is ap plied, the ring will be forced into the eyelet and the compression of the ring will conse quently cause it to bind against the inner face of the eyelet quite strongly. The lace 16 is passed through the loop 12 and through the eyelet so that when the loop 12 is closed down against the material 15 the lace will be jammed tightly between the ring 13 and the eyelet. It is to be noted that the split in the ring 13 is disposed approximately over one of the side bars of the loop 12 at right angles to the space through which the lace 16 passes so that the ring will compress when it engages the lace.

It will be noted from the drawings that any pull upon the end a of the lace will cause the ring 13 to bind even more tightly into the eyelet and thus bind more tightly upon the lace itself, while any pull upon the end Z) of the lace, if the pull is sufficiently strong, will lift up upon the ring 13 and the loop so that the fastener is readily opened by pulling the lace in one direction.

Particular attention is called to the action of this device as illustrated in Fig. 2. This figure is a section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and therefore shows to the right an upper lace fastener and to the left a relatively lower lace fastener. Now when the lace, tape or string 16 is placed in POSlt' tion in an upper eyelet, the lace in the lower eyelet is automatically locked by the pull and the tension of the lace between the two eyelets cannot become relaxed. Where my device, for instance, is applied to a corset, the corset is first hooked in front and then laced behind to suit the requirements of the individual. When it is once laced and the locking device is closed, the lace cannot slip or shift and no more lacing or unlacing will be required for putting on or taking off the corset until it is desired to change the form of the corset for any reason. These lace fasteners therefore keep the corset from changing its shape by relative shifting of the laces through the eyelets. While I have illustrated this device as applied to a corset it is to be understood that this is merely illustrative and that it may be applied to shoes, garments or in any other circumstances where it is desired to lace two members to each other.

In Fig. 4 I show a slight modification of the illustration shown in Figs. 2 and 3. In this modification however, the ring 13 which is attached to the loop 12 is made as a sheet metal annulus as distinguished from a solid ring. It engages with the eyelet 10 however, in the same manner as heretofore described and the device performs the same function as the device shown in Fig. 3.

Having described the invention, what I claim is:

1. The combination with an eyelet, of a lace fastener coacting therewith comprising a member hingedly mounted on the eyelet and carrying a split ring on its under face adapted to be forced into the eyelet, said member having an opening for the passage of a lace.

2. The combination with an eyelet provided with a bead, of a loop having a por tion thereof passing through the bead to thereby afford a hinged connection thereto, and a resilient member carried by said loop and adapted to be forced into the opening of the eyelet.

3. The combination with an eyelet provided with a bead, of a loop having a portion thereof passing through the bead to thereby afford a hinged connection thereto, and a resilient member carried by said loop and adapted to be forced into the opening of the eyelet, said member having the form of a split ring, the split in the ring being disposed at the side of the loop.

In testimony whereof I hereunto alfix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

DAVE IVINBRAY.

Witnesses:

WJLLIAM E. WoO'r'rEN, BENJAMIN MILLS, Jr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

